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Chap. 2:Literary Terms, Elements, and Conventions

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Term
Definition
Mood/atmosphere   The attitude created by the author toward the subject or prevailing emotions of the work. Revealed through imagery, characters, events, setting and other elements. Can be a feeling of gloomy, happy, dreary etc.  
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Theme   Grounds our interpretations. An idea that arises in a work and reflects ideas and beliefs that have surfaced in our human consciousness repeatedly through the ages.  
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Tone   Affects the overall feel of the work. The authors attitude about the subject in which he or she is writing. Can reflect any human attitude toward a subject  
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Plot   Action elements. Often used in evaluating work. Discussing the plot line of a story without getting into details.  
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Exposition   The first element, opening of the story, helps audience understand and engage them in events to come.  
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Rising Action   Includes Exposition. Builds events and tension  
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Climax   When the rising action of the story reaches its peak. When story reaches its highest intensity.  
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Falling Action   Follows the climax and flows toward the conclusion.  
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Denouement (Resolution)   Final outcome. The closure to the story.  
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Subplot "double plot"   A secondary plot to the main plot of the story.  
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Foreshadowing   Events to come later in the story are hinted at to build tension  
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Conflict (man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. self, man vs. society)   A struggle between forces. Often a large part of the rising action.  
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Complication   A term used to denote the development of conflict comprising the rising action.  
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Crisis   when a character is forced to make some kind of decision. usually closely connected to some kind of turning point in the story.  
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Recognition   A moment when a character advances from a stage of ignorance to an advanced state of knowledge and recognizes something previously unrecognized. Comprises part of the characters development and growth.  
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Characterization   concerns the variety of techniques and strategies used to create characters of various types. Relates you to characters.  
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Protagonist   The central character in a story. Sets events in motion. Not always heroic in nature.  
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Antagonist   Opposes the Protagonist. Can be society and nature, not just a person.  
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Hero   like a protagonist, is a central character, associated with a strong moral character.  
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Anti-Hero   like a protagonist, is a central character, associated with a strong moral character.  
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Foil   A character that is used to highlight elements of more central characters through contrast. Main purpose to to allow aspects of more common characters to come out.  
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Stock Character   Often used to populate the world of the story.  
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Flat Character   A character that does not come across as fully developed. Distinguished by one main trait and does not have the capacity to change throughout the story.  
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Round Character   A character that is developed and complex and has the capacity to change throughout the story.  
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Archetype   A character, image, detail, motif, or other elements that consistently surfaces in literary works over time and represents a significant pattern in human experiences and beliefs.  
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Epiphany   When a character has a strong realization or understanding. Crucial turning point. Inner transformation for the character.  
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Persona   Whatever voice the author is using to tell the story. What style, what tone, etc.  
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Point of View   The perspective from which the literary work is told. The lens of the narrator.  
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Monologue   A speech delivered by one character onstage during a play.  
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Motivation   The factors that cause characters to do the things they do.  
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First Person Point of View   If author uses terms like "we, us, ours"  
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Second Person Point of View   An account from the addressee's point of view. (you, your) Most commonly used in poetry.  
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Third Person Objective point of View:   A distanced perspective where the narrator focuses just on the external events and does not convey information related to the inner thoughts, desires, and motives of character's; readers get little to no sense of what a character's thoughts are.  
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Third Person Limited Point of View   readers re provided direct access to that particular characters thoughts, desires, and motivations.  
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Third Person Omniscient Point of View   A narrative presence that is all-knowing and has access to all characters thoughts, motivations, feelings and lives.  
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Irony   Takes many different forms. Refers to discrepancy between the literal and the actual.  
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Verbal Irony   When a statement means the opposite of its literal meaning. (sarcasm)  
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Situational Irony   When the expected situation ends up being different from the actual situation. (bought a bus ticket, was a holiday so didn’t need to pay)  
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Cosmic Irony   When actions contradict results. (fate of a situations, greater universe, god controls)  
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Convention   A method, technique or concept that is agreed upon by readers and authors.  
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Dramatic Irony   When an audience knows more than characters. (the girls hair is on fire but she doesn’t know it yet)  
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Allegory   A common example of a convention. A story that contains a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. (Three little pigs)  
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Allusion   A reference to some meaning that exists outside of the text.  
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Aside   In drama, a brief passage spoken only so the audience can hear it.  
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Deus Ex Machina   A phrase used to describe a situation where an outside force intervenes to resolve a human conflict.  
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Flashbacks   Reliving a scene through a character's perspective. Helps readers understand more about characters motivations.  
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In media res   a narrative device where the story begins in the "middle of things" to establish tension and attract readers attention  
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Satire   A genre based on using humor to reveal human inconsistencies, weakness and contradictions.  
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Soliloquy   A speech delivered by a character alone on stage.  
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